Comanche Peak

Route: from venable
Posted On: 6/19/2025, By: Laxer04
Info: Summer conditions. did the loop from venable. i couldnt find a summit register 

Route: From Venable TH, up Comanche side, same descent
Posted On: 11/3/2024, By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Variable snow conditions. Dry trail down low progressing to light snow in the trees to sugar snow with a breakable crust above treeline going up the Comanche side. Some deeper wind drifted snow made for some postholing getting up to the saddle (deeper than knee height in spots). Mostly dry up high the rest of the way up to Comanche, on the ridge to Spring, and over to Venable. Wind was a nuisance the entire time up high. We could not find a safe way to descend into the phantom terrace due to a loaded NE cornice that was just fluff and without axe and crampons I didnt feel comfortable breaking through and possibly ending up on bulletproof snow in what I could see had been shady all day. Thankfully cutting down to the visible lower trail back from Venable over to the Comanche saddle was efficient and it didnt seem to add too much time to go down the way wed come up. West faces are much drier. 

Route: Comanche Lake Tr
Posted On: 6/22/2024, By: cloudust
Info: Hiked Comanche Peak and Spring Mountain via Comanche Lake Tr. (TH = Venable/Comanche) Run off on trail for approx 0.25 miles between Comanche Lake & the Comanche/Spring saddle. While summer conditions, terrain is very wet & slick. 

Route: Venable->Spring->Comanche
Posted On: 6/21/2024, By: artemavovk
Info: No snow on the trail. No snow on the ridge. No good photos because I was literally in a cloud. 

Route: North Creston Trail -> Middle Fork
Posted On: 4/24/2024, By: catkeson
Info: Started at trailhead at North Crestone Trail at 6am, reached peak at 12am, down by 4:30pm. Still long patches of snow above 11,000 ft. Trail visible up until ~11,200 ft on Middle Fork turning up into valley. Snow shoes were needed. Crust forms in morning over snow and starts melting in the midday. Lots more post holing on the way down. Snow clears up at the pass ~12600 and the hike to the peak is snow free. 

Route: Venable TH>Venable>Spring>Comanche
Posted On: 10/11/2023, By: rachel
Info: North facing aspect holding snow. Minor amounts on Comanche. 

Route: Comanche
Posted On: 7/4/2023, By: angry
Info: Comanche>Spring> Venable Alpine start of 11am. Comanche trail up, Venable trail down. Parking lot was full when I arrived but everyone was just hanging at the lake. I had all 3 peaks to myself. Dry to summit, no register. 

Route: Comanche Trail/North Ridge
Posted On: 6/10/2023, By: Scott Conro
Info: Route mostly snow-covered from the lake turnoff (~11.6k) to the ridge. Snow held me 75% of the time on the way up and down (up 7:45-9am, down 10:30-11:15am) but was quite slippery both ways. Steeper section of trail snow-blocked at ~11.9k, had to find my way below, but was pretty easy (C2 grass and rocks) to find a line to make it work. Trail was a running creek for about 5 minutes around 12,000ft. I'm pretty inexperienced on terrain with so much consistent snow to work with but it appears the standard route would be pretty risky with current snow conditions. I opted for a mostly direct line from 12.3k to 12.7k up the snow to mitigate any danger with a potential snow slide (I don't know how likely it is for these slopes to slide still) I traversed up grassy/rocky terrain to gain the Spring Mountain south ridge at 12.9k. From here, both Spring Mountain and Comanche Peak were basically dry...the snow to navigate was short-lived, inconsequential, and could be navigated around if needed. Photos: 1: The covered trail at ~11.9k 2. General line up the slope (and glissade down) 3. View of Spring Mountain south ridge from Comanche, & route up. 4. North ridge of Comanche. 5. A look at the current conditions of the standard route. 

Route: North ridge
Posted On: 10/12/2022, By: Jay521
Info: Avoidable snow from the pass to the summit 

Route: Comanche trail
Posted On: 11/29/2021, By: seoulman
Info: 2-3 inches of snow most of the way. Summit block had only patchy snow. Microspikes optional. The rest of the sangres looked about the same, maybe a bit drier to the north. 

Route: down to Comanche Trailhead
Posted On: 9/7/2021, By: kingshimmers
Info: The tundra is changing and the willows are starting to turn, but 98% of the aspen leaves between the Comanche trailhead and peak are still green - we have a few more weeks yet! 

Route: Comanche/Spring/Venable/12,873
Posted On: 7/5/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: The Comanche trail is in great shape. Maybe one fallen tree the entire way up to the pass, then an easy tundra and talus hop to Comanche. The ridge to Spring is slightly more difficult but can be made as easy as you want. 

Route: Comanche-Venable Loop
Posted On: 6/4/2020, By: tjf242424
Info: Summer conditions aside from two small traverses on snow on the Comanche Trail, easily crossed in approach shoes (no traction). There is still a significant cornice at the Comanche saddle, but it is easy to climb straight up to the ridge just before reaching the snow. The ridge on Comanche, the traverse over Spring, the ascent of Venable, and the Venable Trail back to the trailhead are all completely dry. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 8/4/2019, By: dolfh
Info: The trail up to Comanche Pass is muddy, but free of snow. There is an indistinct trail along the edge of the North Ridge to the summit. The slope angle near the top exceeds 40 degrees. The mosquitoes are terrible. 

Route: via Middle Fork N Crestone Creek
Posted On: 7/6/2019, By: nathansmithpiano
Info: Beautiful weather, totally dry, full summer on the Venable, Spring, and Comanche Hiked Fluted, Little Horn, and Horn, same, all from N Crestone TH. Only downside: mosquitos meant BUSINESS until about 11,500 or whenever a breeze came through.